Generations of sailors have had their first ocean adventures launched at the Leeway Sailing Center.

The 1948 structure is a fixture on the peninsula, 5427 E. Ocean Blvd., facing Alamitos Bay, and it's the home base for training sessions.

In the near future, however, the city could get back on track in replacing the center with a new training facility.

The proposed plans include about 5,300 square feet of office space, classrooms, boat storage and restrooms, along with 3,200 square feet of decking.

The reason for the pending upgrades, according to planning officials, is that the Leeway Sailing Center has become "functionally obsolete and insufficient" to accommodate sailing rookies.

"The current storage space exposes boats and equipment to damaging sunlight and weather, and the classroom space is inadequate for current activities and class sizes," said Derek Burnham, Development Services planning administrator, in a recent staff report.

"In addition, the pier and decking are dilapidated ... and do not meet seismic code requirements and are in need of renovation."

Officials in Public Works and Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine plan to demolish the Leeway Sailing Center, which they do not consider a historically significant structure.

The new structure is being tailored as a certified Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Silver building, Burnham wrote.

Eric Lopez, Tidelands capital projects program manager, said the project will be submitted in the next couple of months. A projected price, he said, is about $3.2 million.

Feeling safe on Second

When Bill Lorbeer speaks, people generally listen along Belmont Shore's Second Street retail and restaurant row.

As the veteran chairman of the Belmont Shore Parking and Business Improvement Area Advisory Commission - known simply as the Parking Commission - his views can have an impact on the smooth operations along Second.

At a recent meeting of the commission, Lorbeer shared some personal views about wanting to restore the firefighter services on Second.

The Fire Department took a Belmont Shore fire engine out of service on Jan. 2 due to budget reductions. Mike DuRee, chief of the Long Beach Fire Department, said removing a fifth engine to save another $2 million would not have been considered in a better fiscal environment.

"I don't want to minimize that, but this is going to have the least impact on the system," DuRee said.

Shuttering the engine will have a minimal effect on response times in the district's southeast area, including Naples Island, Alamitos Bay and Second Street and Pacific Coast Highway, DuRee said.

Station 8 will not close under the plan. A paramedic rescue ambulance will be relocated there from Station 14 near Colorado Lagoon.

Lorbeer shared some personal views on the situation, saying at a recent commission meeting that he would want DuRee's decision to be reconsidered.

He said that he owns lots of buildings in the area, adding that two fires during the past 15 years involved his property, including Legend's. The bar-grill was badly damaged in a June 2005 fire.

The quick response kept the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings, Lorbeer said Thursday.

"That short response time was very helpful," he said, adding that Legend's brick wall also kept the blaze contained.

Lorbeer said he understands the city's budget woes and has no plan to attempt to reverse City Hall decision.